Moab Trail Marathon route map
raceindex.org has a GPS course file for Moab Trail Marathon, so runners can inspect the route line on the map. Elevation charts and ascent figures appear only when that file includes usable elevation data.
Moab Trail Marathon
This race edition
- Race date
- Date not confirmed for this distance
- Race timezone
- Timezone not confirmed
- Edition status
- Status not confirmed
Entry options
2026 edition
Entry options are not yet confirmed for this edition. Check the organiser before making plans.
net elevation -2 m
Decision summary
Moab Trail Marathon at a glance
- Route ascent
- 1,404 m
- Typical conditions
- 99/100
- Evidence depth
- 45 verified facts
Lower than 12% of comparable mapped races
Historical race-date favourability, not a forecast
Stored GPS route
Quick answers
What runners ask first
How hilly is the Moab Trail Marathon?
The Moab Trail Marathon route has 1,404 m of ascent and 1,405 m of descent.
Where does the Moab Trail Marathon route go?
The Moab Trail Marathon route starts at /finish base area is the Kane Creek Recreation Parking Area in Kane Creek Canyon, just outside Moab, Utah. Runners shuttle from Helen M. Knight (HMK) Elementary School and packet pickup is held Friday afternoon at the Kane Creek Recreational Parking Lot. Underfoot, expect 100% on un-paved trails: narrow single-track, rugged jeep trails, sandy washes, 'Moab-style slickrock', a short section of dirt road, a few sections of no-track, a very old mining trail and a couple of sections of fixed-line traverse. It passes Pritchett Canyon, Hunter Canyon, Kane Creek Canyon, Behind the Rocks Wilderness and Amasa Back. The marathon has long been a USATF Trail Marathon National Championship venue (hosted roughly ten times since 2010), and in 2026 the event hosts the USATF Trail Half Marathon National Championships and the U.S.
What should runners know on race day for the Moab Trail Marathon?
7.
Race character
Scenery
- Desert
- Canyon
- Countryside
- Mountain
- Parkland
- Riverside
Atmosphere
- Destination
- Wilderness
- Competitive
Terrain
- Trail
- Mixed
- Elevation character
- Mountainous
- Technicality
- Very Technical
- Source-stated ascent
- 1,067 m
- Net elevation
- 0 m
The stored route produces 1,404 m of ascent, while a source states 1,067 m. GPS sampling and elevation models can produce different totals, so both are labelled rather than combined.
Entry, logistics and records
Records and field
- Typical finish
- 5:00:00
- Field size
- Registration is limited to the first 900 entrants per day. The event has grown from roughly 200 participants in its early years to well over 1,000, with recent editions drawing over 2,200 recreational runners across all distances.
- Field cap
- 900
Entry requirements
- Entry status
- Open entry: The held registration model is open entry and this edition is not marked sold out.
- Qualification status
- Not a Boston Marathon qualifier (rugged off Road trail course). The marathon has historically served as the USATF Trail Marathon National Championship.
Race day logistics
- Aid stations
- 7
- Expo / packet pickup
- Packet pickup is held Friday November 6th, 2026 from 2pm-6pm at the Kane Creek Recreational Parking Lot, with race-morning pickup also available from 6:15am.
- Medal
- Registration includes a finishers medal and mug. Awards go to top overall and age-group finishers, with a cash purse shared between the top Half Marathon finishers.
- Finisher tee
- Registration includes a T-shirt and goodie bag in addition to chip timing, shuttle to the start and back, on-course aid stations with water and snacks, and post-event soup, quesadillas and snacks.
Access and course status
- Start
- Start/finish base area is the Kane Creek Recreation Parking Area in Kane Creek Canyon, just outside Moab, Utah. Runners shuttle from Helen M. Knight (HMK) Elementary School and packet pickup is held Friday afternoon at the Kane Creek Recreational Parking Lot.
Course facts
- Course type
- Point To Point
- Surface
- 100% on un Paved trails: narrow single Track, rugged jeep trails, sandy washes, 'Moab Style slickrock', a short section of dirt road, a few sections of no Track, a very old mining trail and a couple of sections of fixed Line traverse.
- Landmarks
- Pritchett Canyon, Hunter Canyon, Kane Creek Canyon, Behind the Rocks Wilderness, Amasa Back, Captain Ahab singletrack, Jackson Trail, Colorado River, Canyonlands National Park views, La Sal Mountains
- Notable features
- Held over two days: Saturday November 7th hosts the Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K Adventure Run and Kids K
- Sunday November 8th hosts a second Half Marathon. The marathon has long been a USATF Trail Marathon National Championship venue (hosted roughly ten times since 2010), and in 2026 the event hosts the USATF Trail Half Marathon National Championships and the U.S. Collegiate Trail Running Championships, with a $6,600 cash purse for the half marathon
- A genuinely technical desert trail course described as '26 miles of exhilaration'. It travels through narrow canyons with spectacular vertical walls and along the rim-tops of deep canyons, and includes a couple of sections of fixed-line (rope) traverse, slickrock scrambling and small creek/water crossings. Six aid stations on the marathon at approximately miles 5.7, 9.7, 13.3, 17.3, 20.6 and 24.1
How hilly is the Moab Trail Marathon?
- Steep descent 21%
- Descent 17%
- Flat 24%
- Climb 16%
- Steep climb 21%
- Total ascent
- 1,404 m
- Net elevation
- −2 m
- Longest climb
- 2,100 m at 13.9%
What are typical race-day conditions?
- 9°CTypical temperature
- 14 kphTypical wind
- 1 mmTypical rainfall
- 99Favourability /100
Compare